SunTour Superbe Tech L
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Category:  Rear Derailleurs
Name:  SunTour Superbe Tech L
Brand:  SunTour
Primary Group:  Superbe
Model:  RD-4800
Years:  1983 - ?
Country:  Japan
Weight:  299 grams
Added By: JFischer on 08/14/07
Updated By: peterbman on 05/05/18
Additional Photos - click for full size
SunTour Superbe Tech LSunTour Superbe Tech LSunTour Superbe Tech LSunTour Superbe Tech L
Outer Plate MarkingsSunTour Superbe TECHInner Plate Markings
MaterialAluminum Alloy; SteelDesign CategorySlant parallelogram
Attachment Bolt Size6mm Allen KeyCable Attachment Bolt Size4mm Allen Key
Shifting SystemsFrictionCable AdjusterNo
Cage LengthLongMax Cog Size34
Max Chain Wrap34  
General Information
A remarkable, vintage top-of-the-line wide-ratio derailleur by SunTour, Japan.

Its completely sealed parallelogram is truly unique--never done before, or since. Within its hermetic enclosure it works basically like any other except, without the dirt. It also has no cable housing stop. Instead it has a radiused guide designed to directly accept the inner cable, eliminating the imprecision and 'mushiness' that the typical tight loop of rear housing usually causes.

To follow the rear sprockets closely it has a unique (or almost unique--this part of of its design is similar to a Huret Duopar) dual-parallelogram ("duo-par") dual-pivoting, floating cage assembly, with an 11 tooth top pulley. One feature which it shares with many other long cage SunTours of the era is its open cage design, permitting the chain to be removed from it or replaced on it without any tools or need to thread it through the cage.

Quality:Rarity:
 
 
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Additional Resources
Resources:Reference & ChartsCatalogsExternal Resources
Component Groups
Primary Group NameBrandQuick InfoBrowse Group Components
SuperbeSunTour1977 - 1985, Road RaceView 28 Components
Details:   Face lift to "Superbe II" in 1983
Brand Information(click to expand)

SunTour (Maeda)

SunTour derailleurs have a two-letter date code. On rear derailleurs the code is stamped on the back side of the inner parallel arm. On front derailleurs it is stamped on the back side of the inner cage.

The first letter represents the year. Larry Osborn and I believe O (Oh) is 1972, V is 1979 and A is 1984. As with Shimano, the second letter is the month code, where A is January and L is December.

SunTour Year Code

N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
1971
1972
1973
1974
1975
1976
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
 
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992

SunTour Month Code

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
Jan
Feb
Mar
Apr
May
Jun
Jul
Aug
Sep
Oct
Nov
Dec

The earliest Suntour derailleur I have found with a code is marked OF. A rear derailleur marked OD (corresponding to April of 72) was reported by Leighton Walter. I have a bike that dates from between 1970 to 1972 that has the original SunTour derailleurs. These derailleurs do not have date codes on them, so I believe the coding started sometime between 1970 and April of 1972.

(source: vintage-trek.com)

 
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